The Alcatel One Touch Fire, this entry-level phone is basically a rehash of the budget One Touch T’Pop announced back at CES, packing a 3.5-inch HVGA TN display, a 1GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB storage and a 3.2-megapixel camera. There are also the usual bunch of radios: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, FM radio and UMTS 900/2100 and 850/1900/2100 (up to 7.2Mbps for download and 5.76Mbps for upload).

Underneath the removable 1,400mAh battery you’ll find a microSD card slot (with a 2GB card in the bundle) up to 32GB, as well as a slot for an old-school Mini-SIM card.

Alcatel One Touch Fire will launch first in China (Mozilla has partnered up with China Unicom), Latin America, and will be the first Firefox OS phone to hit Europe, specifically Poland in the summer through Deutsche Telecom.

The ONE TOUCH FIRE
(featuring the Mozilla Firefox OS)
As the world’s first smartphone to feature the Mozilla Firefox OS, it promises to gain a huge amount of attention in comparison to its tiny size – 500 million Mozilla users can’t be wrong!

Teeny tiny and super shiny, the ONE TOUCH FIRE is an easy-to-choose, easy-to-use smartphone in a range of seven bright colours and a compact, pocket-friendly design.

This entry-level, fun and bright smartphone is purpose built to deliver a simple, smart, easy-to-use first time smartphone experience. It’s the perfect choice for those moving gently from a feature phone to a smartphone – the large 3.5 inch display makes for a smooth HTML5 experience and apps are discovered in context while you surf the web!

The ONE TOUCH FIRE features the popular Firefox web browser; a 3.2 Megapixel camera; and a 1GHz processor for smooth browsing.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH is proud to offer the first Mozilla Firefox OS smartphone, the ONE TOUCH FIRE is already being embraced by partners across the globe.

The Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona is green now with Mozilla that officially launching their Firefox OS for mobile phones and are proud to announce that they have deals with 18 carriers, a partnership with Qualcomm to use their Snapdragon chipsets and four manufacturers – ZTE, Alcatel, LG and Huawei. These operators include: América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Three Group, KDDI, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia Group, Telefónica, Telenor, TMN and VimpelCom. The first two also showcased phones with Firefox OS at the MWC. The first Firefox OS devices will be available to consumers in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. Additional markets will be announced soon.

Firefox OS

The Firefox OS uses HTML5-based apps that run on technology shared with the Firefox browser and initially targets the entry level segment. The goal is to create an open source OS, that web developers can easily create apps for and post them on the Firefox Marketplace.

You can check out Marketplace if you have Firefox Aurora for Android. There you’ll find social networking apps for Facebook and Twitter, Nokia’s HERE mapping solution, Box integration, games from EA Mobile and Disney Mobile Games.

The OS has the same commitment to privacy, security and customizations that the Firefox browser is known for and places a strong emphasis on search.

The Firefox OS also supports video calling over Web RTC – a browser-based tech, also available on the Android Firefox Aurora app. It will eventually make its way to desktop browsers too (Firefox and Chrome at least).

Firefox Marketplace

Firefox Marketplace will offer apps in categories like games, news and media, business and productivity. These apps are tied to you and your online identity to take across devices and platforms. Leading mobile apps and Web developers around the globe will leverage the power of the Web unlocked by Mozilla to release apps in the Firefox Marketplace.

The Web enables limitless innovation and with Firefox Marketplace. Every Web developer can easily create and distribute HTML5 apps so you can find an app for whatever you want – even local, niche and emerging topics. Firefox Marketplace will include popular apps such as AccuWeather, Airbnb, Box, Cut the Rope, Disney Mobile Games, EA games, Facebook, Nokia HERE, MTV Brasil, Pulse News, SoundCloud, SporTV, Terra, Time Out and Twitter as well as personally-tailored and local apps that are relevant to users in their respective regions.

Firefox Marketplace will make smartphones capable of offering more powerful and immersive Web app experiences. The Web now has the potential to be the world’s largest marketplace with the new Web APIs Mozilla developed. The open Web platform and these new Web APIs also enable developers to distribute apps directly, with no need for gatekeepers, true to the Mozilla mission of creating choice, innovation and opportunity on the Web.

Firefox Marketplace can be previewed on Firefox for Android Aurora and will be offered with the first Firefox OS phones to launch later this year.

Alcatel isn’t holding anything back this year, as it is vying for the thinnest smartphone crown with the One Touch Idol Ultra. Measuring just 6.45mm, it takes the top spot by a narrow margin – but let’s not forget that the show is just starting.

It boasts a 4.7″ HD (720p, not FullHD, mind you) screen, 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB of RAM and an 8 MP camera with 1.3 MP front-facer, both of which record at 720p. There’s also a similarly-spec’d One Touch Idol, which is thicker, has a qHD screen, and half the ram of the Idol Ultra.

The One Touch Idol Ultra will be out this month in China for 2799 RMB (~$449). There’s no word yet on US availability, although it looks to be in jeopardy as Alcatel is supposedly having trouble getting it through the FCC due to its thin profile.

Las Vegas, Nevada (Consumer Electronic Show) – January 7, 2013 – TCL Communication, the leading global designer and manufacturer of ALCATEL ONE TOUCH branded mobile devices, today announced the brands 2013 smartphone lineup, including the world’s slimmest smartphone, the ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra and the first phone to feature the new MediaTek MT6589 quad-core chipset, the ScribeHD.

“The Alcatel ONE TOUCH brand has grown exponentially since entering the U.S. market eight years ago,” said Nicolas Zibell, President, Americas & Pacific for ALCATEL ONE TOUCH. “And with the launch of our new smartphone collection we plan to take things to the next level.”

ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra
The ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra smartphone is the thinnest smartphone yet. The device breaks current market records at 6.45mm thin. Performance is not compromised in this design with features such as a stunning 4.7” HD AMOLED display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera that captures 1080p video, and running on Android Jelly Bean.

ONE TOUCH Idol
In the same product line, the ONE TOUCH Idol also breaks current records, weighing in at 110 grams (3.88 oz) making it the lightest smartphone in its category. The device’s dual-core processor and Android platform provides a feature-rich experience and supports a large, bright 4.7″ IPS display, 8MP camera and 2MP front camera, running on Android Jelly Bean and offered in premium brushed metallic finishes.

“The ONE TOUCH Idol device series represents a breakthrough in technology,” said Alain Lejeune, Head of Research and Development for ALCATEL ONE TOUCH. “We’ve pushed the barriers on design, resulting in devices that offer the perfect balance between ultra-slim form factor, large display, outstanding performance, and rich user experience, while keeping the devices affordably priced to consumers.”